In recent years rotational finishing operations have been used more and more to provide structural and cosmetic changes to the surface of products. During a rotational finishing operation, the products being finished are typically placed in a barrel or container with a processing media, such as an abrasive, and the container is rotated about its axis and/or a secondary axis. The rotational motion of the container causes the media to contact the surface of the product, producing finishing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,783, 5,355,638 and 5,848,929 describe high speed rotational processors that are particularly useful for finishing a wide variety of products. The apparatus disclosed in these patents are adapted to subject a product being finished to significantly high accelerations, e.g., 20 g's or more. These high accelerations, generate a significant amount of energy that the media applies to the surface of the products. The result is a change in both the structural and cosmetic appearance of the surface of the product.
The products being finished are typically placed in the container prior to or after the media is introduced. While many products can be rotated or tumbled without concern for the product hitting the walls of the container, some products, such as cutting tools including drill bits, saw blades and the like, have edges that may become damaged if they contact the container walls, especially when the containers are operating at the high speeds described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,783, 5,355,638 and 5,848,929.
Also, if more than one part is placed within a vessel at a time, there is a chance that the products can contact one another and cause damage. Additionally, some products have a tendency to nest with one another (i.e., product-to-product contact) during rotational processing as opposed to staying spaced apart in the media. Nesting prevents the media from sufficiently contacting the surface of the products, thereby resulting in a deficient end product.
A need exists for a fixture which is capable of holding a tool or other product to be processed, and which can protect the product from contacting the walls of a container, while still permitting the product to be completely contacted by the finishing media.